Categories: News

America’s biggest dairy co-op poised to acquire Dean Foods

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the country’s biggest dairy cooperative, has struck a $425 million agreement to acquire Dean Foods, a major milk processing company that filed for bankruptcy last November. While the co-op is framing the buyout as a move that will preserve markets for farmers—who are struggling as milk consumption and prices plummet—antitrust experts and government warn that it could lead to conflicts of interest within DFA, as well as a monopoly within the industry. An expanded DFA could also exacerbate the issue of low milk prices, which the co-op’s processing arm benefits from. The deal still requires a go-ahead from the bankruptcy court and Department of Justice. Also, if Dean Foods moves forward with another buyer instead, it will owe DFA a “breakup” fee of $15 million. Wall Street Journal has the story.

Related Post
The Counter
Share
Published by
The Counter

Recent Posts

Is California giving its methane digesters too much credit?

Every year, California dairy farms emit hundreds of thousands of tons of the potent greenhouse…

2 years ago

Your car is killing coho salmon

Highway 7 runs north-south through western Washington, carving its way through a landscape sparsely dotted…

2 years ago

The pandemic has transformed America’s dining landscape into an oligopoly dominated by chains 

One of the greatest pleasures I had as a child growing up in the Chicago…

2 years ago

California is moving toward food assistance for all populations—including undocumented immigrants

Undocumented immigrants experience food insecurity at much higher rates than other populations, yet they are…

2 years ago

Babka, borscht … and pumpkin spice? Two writers talk about Jewish identity through contemporary cookbooks.

Writer Charlotte Druckman and editor Rebecca Flint Marx are both Jewish journalists living in New…

2 years ago

How some big grocery chains help ensure that food deserts stay barren

Last fall, first-year law student Karissa Kang arrived at Yale University and quickly set out…

2 years ago